Estilo de liderazgo del director educativo y su implicación en el proceso educativo en una Institución Educativa

Abstract

Currently, leadership has gained marked relevance in various organizations, especially in the educational field. Educational leadership is a critical factor for institutional success and educational quality. This study aimed to analyze the leadership style of the principal of a private educational unit in Ambato, Ecuador, through the perception of its teachers. The research, with a quantitative approach, included the entire teaching population (56 teachers from initial, primary, and secondary levels). For data collection, the Leadership Styles Questionnaire (CELID) by Castro et al. (2004) was used, an instrument with 34 items and a five-point Likert scale, whose high reliability was con-firmed by a Cronbach's Alpha of 0.929. The descriptive analysis of the data revealed that the principal is predominantly perceived as a transformational leader (mean = 72.66), characterized by inspiring, motivating, and promoting innovation. Also, the study reveals that the rector exercises an intermediate level of transactional leadership (mean = 40.02) and a low use of the laissez-faire style (mean = 18.13). The findings suggest that the principal's leadership is oriented towards vision, charisma, and intellectual stimulation, key elements for institutional development and the continuous improvement of educational quality. This study reinforces the importance of directive leadership in pedagogical management and teacher profession-al development.